Note: Hi, thanks for the new reviews. Sorry my chapters are rather short. I tend to lose momentum after about an hour of writing, and I have to wait a couple of days before I can face it again. Self-doubt is such a horrid monster.

Chihiro sipped the hot tea, mostly trying to hide her face. Professor Hanawa had barely remembered her from his Ritual Symbols class. Well, he'll remember you now, she thought wryly. After the initial shock of seeing her in her current condition, the professor quickly recovered and found an old robe. He was now bandaging her feet in his living room.

Professor Hanawa was a kindly man in his forties. He had dark auburn hair and warm brown eyes. Beneath the bushy eyebrows and beard was a handsome, scholarly face. Chihiro glanced around the simple living room. Sparse furniture made space for the many shelves and stacks of books. There were no photos of a wife and children, only some paintings and sketches of various religious signs.

"The cuts should heal all right," Professor Hanawa spoke up abruptly. He finished with the bandages and got up to put away the supplies. "Try not to walk too much in the next couple of days, Miss Ogino."

"Thank you, Professor. I realize this is…um…" She closed her mouth as a new wave of mortification hit her. He sat down across from her and fixed concerned eyes on her.

"Miss Ogino, what happened? How did you end up here…like this?"

Chihiro opened and closed her mouth a few times. She racked her brain for a believable explanation.

"I went swimming…in the river……something attacked me. A wild animal, I think. So I ran. I got lost and ended up here."

"Oh, my." There was doubt in his face. He glanced at her feet. "Were you injured anywhere else?"

"No, I'm fine. I'm sorry to have troubled you."

"It's no trouble. What kind of animal was it?"

She blinked. "It was…a bear…um, a small bear. Yeah." That sounded beyond lame. There were no bears in this area.

"A small bear," Professor Hanawa repeated skeptically. Chihiro could only nod like an idiot as she cringed inside. After moment, he sighed. "You must've had a terrible shock. Why don't I drive you home?"

Later, as Chihiro snuggled under the pile of blankets in her own bed, she tried to push away the images from the day. She was thoroughly spooked. The girl at the river had picked her up and flung her as if she weighed no more than a pillow. If the man hadn't caught her, she might have a cracked skull now. And that man…he had called her name.

She was sure she knew his eyes. It was a whisper of a memory that slipped away every time she reached for it. It made her heart ache. She had to go back. She had to find out who that man was. The decision made, she finally fell asleep.

Kokei whimpered. She was so very thirsty. Her skin was dry and beginning to shrivel. Her tongue felt like sandpaper irritating her already chapped lips. She was not allowed to go back to the river for three days. Since she was bond to it, only its water can nourish her. She had displeased her master, and this was the punishment.

She squeezed her eyes shut, desperately wanting to cry. She was only trying to protect the river, to protect him. That's why the Lady of the Dragons sent her here. He was almost at his full power now, and he would reach it if everything went smoothly. There were so few like him left, and they had already lost him once. Protect him at all cost, the Lady had said. That's what Kokei had done. Now she was being punished.

What had she done wrong? She huddled against the large willow and finally let the tears come. She was just trying to keep the water from being fouled by humans. They'll destroy the river again. The Lady had been so careful when she chose the new path. It had the same source as the original, but was deep enough in the woods to avoid most human contact.

Kokei let her emotions calm as she thought back to the day before. That girl had acted as if she came to the river often. That girl…the master had called her Chihiro. Did they know each other? No, the girl had run off without response. Still…

Something was not right. Kokei would find out. But for now, she licked her tears hungrily though it couldn't satisfy. For now, she waited.

To be continued….the next chapter is focused on Haku. )